The Fijian Government is committed to achieving the desired goals of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325.
Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (PRUN) Peter Thomson addressed the UN Security Council open debate on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325) in New York earlier this week and reaffirmed Fiji’s commitment to achieving the security resolutions.
UNSCR 1325 is a declaration or pledge by heads of Government, who are members of the UN to address not only the inordinate impact of war on women, but also the pivotal role women should and do play in conflict management, conflict resolution, and sustainable peace.
“Fiji’s commitment to the resolution is exemplified in our policies that, among other things, strongly encourage the recruitment of women in our security forces and their deployment with equal opportunities to peacekeeping missions,” he said.
“We support the global effort to increase the participation of women in UN police peacekeeping roles to 20 per cent by 2014 and we encourage the provision of pre and post deployment training of our peacekeepers and welcome further assistance and expertise in this regard.’
“Fiji supported the participation and representation of women at all levels of decision-making. The Fijian Government continuously has consultations and interactions with civil society and the public.
“We also acknowledge the work of FemLINK PACIFIC, a Fiji-based NGO that specifically deals with 1325,” Mr Thomson said.
The Fijian Government, he said promoted the enhancement of efforts to collaborate with the expertise and experience of women's groups, with a view to enhancing the implementation of 1325 at the national level.
“We welcome the pronouncement by the UN Secretary-General in his report that the most significant institutional development with regard to women, peace and security has been the creation of UN-Women with the purpose of leveraging the entire UN system to ensure accelerated implementation of all relevant resolutions on the issue. We therefore look forward to working with UN-Women in achieving the goals of 1325,” Mr Thomson said.
The resolution was adopted by the UN on October 31, 2000 and Fiji is party to the resolution as a member of the UN.